Knowledge Management in Supply Chains: The Role of Explicit and Tacit Knowledge

We theorize, building on the knowledge‐based view and the theoretical distinction between explicit and tacit knowledge, that knowledge management capability across the supply chain manifests itself in explicit and tacit knowledge, which in turn effectuates supply chain performance. The model is tested with survey data from 195 small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises reporting on their primary supply chain. The results indicate that the supply chain's knowledge management capability manifests itself in both explicit and tacit knowledge, with the latter being influenced more strongly. Moreover, it was found that while both explicit and tacit knowledge influence supply chain performance, the latter exerts a significantly greater impact than the former. Exploratory post hoc analyses add robustness to these findings and investigate mechanisms inherent to the transformation of tacit into explicit knowledge. Overall, this research contributes to academic theory development in logistics and supply chain management by the dichotomization of knowledge types and the demonstration of their differential magnitude of effects, and to managerial practice by providing important guidance for logistics managers structuring their knowledge management efforts across supply chains.     

Enhancing Dyadic Performance Through Boundary Spanners and Innovation: An Assessment of Service Provider–Customer Relationships

Firms recognize that working together through collaborative relationships offers potential benefits such as improving cooperation, information sharing, and overall performance. An additional and extremely valuable benefit of working together is the potential for creating innovative business approaches and solutions. Thus, developing external linkages has become a higher priority within many organizations. Boundary spanning employees offer one means of achieving closer cross‐firm relationships. We investigate the roles of boundary spanners by examining service providers and their relationships with customers. More specifically, we examine boundary spanning employees that are physically on‐site at customer facilities. Results provide strong support that boundary spanners perceiving higher levels of external organizational support from a client subsequently develop affective commitment to the customer. This, in turn, drives knowledge exchange and logistics innovation. A relationship between logistics innovation and performance (of service providers and of customers) was also found. Managerial implications of the research findings are discussed and suggestions presented covering future research.     

Just‐in‐Time Retail Distribution: A Systems Perspective on Cross‐Docking

Cross‐docking is a just‐in‐time strategy for distribution logistics. It is aimed at reducing inventory levels and distribution lead times by creating a seamless flow of products from suppliers to customers. Prior supply chain literature has argued that creating such a seamless product flows requires a holistic view on cross‐docking management, aimed at synchronizing cross‐docking operations at the distribution center with its inbound and outbound network logistics. This paper provides an in‐depth case study illustrating how cross‐docking operations can be managed more holistically in a retail distribution context. A discrete event simulation model has been developed to understand and improve the cross‐docking operations of a large grocery retailer in the Netherlands. The model is used to quantitatively evaluate two proposed changes that exploit opportunities in the design and control of the retailer's distribution network. An extensive real‐world data set is used as input to the model. Overall, the case and simulation results show that a holistic cross‐docking management approach can indeed improve system‐wide performance, which further stresses the importance of making cross‐dock operational decisions making and network decisions together.     

Exploring the relationship between consumer knowledge and purchase behaviour of value‐based labels

Despite an increasing market presence, little research has been conducted regarding consumer‐purchase behaviour of food products bearing ‘value‐based’ labels. Moreover, as the effectiveness of these labelling formats is dependent upon consumer's knowledge of their existence, this paper aims to explore the relationship between knowledge, openness to experience (i.e. validated personality trait related to intellectual capability) and purchase behaviour upon consumer behaviour in this context. Using structural equation modelling techniques, causal influences on purchases of fresh meat bearing ‘value‐based’ labels are identified and three multi‐attribute attitude models are proposed. The paper concludes that these labels are of value to consumers and that product knowledge plays a significant role in aiding purchase decisions. Consequently, marketing communication implications arising from the proposed multi‐attribute attitude models are discussed.     

The Roles of Procedural and Distributive Justice in Logistics Outsourcing Relationships

In this paper, the effects of two dimensions of justice—procedural and distributive—on key attitudinal and behavioral elements of logistics outsourcing relationships are investigated. The findings suggest that the fairness of policies adopted by a third‐party logistics provider (3PL) and respective outcomes nurtures a customer's trust in and long‐term orientation toward the relationship with a 3PL. In such a relationship climate, patterns of cooperative behavior take place, providing an incentive for a 3PL to proactively pursue operational improvements.     

物流工程专业培养方向分析与探讨

本文分析了我国物流工程本科专业的培养现状,结合现代物流发展动向和我校实际,提出了以物流设施规划、物流装备技术和物流信息技术为核心的物流工程本科专业的培养方向,以及应具备的知识、能力和相应的课程设置。     

Best–Worst Scaling Approach to Predict Customer Choice for 3PL Services

This study describes a simple, theoretically based methodology to analyze the nature of customer demand for third‐party logistics provider service components. The method overcomes limitations in prior studies and enables us to examine the relative importance of product and service attributes as they pertain to the choice of third‐party logistics providers. Two distinct types of customers populate our data: those professing operational attributes and those seeking relational attributes. The theoretical and practical implications are that improved supply chain models can be developed when separate demand structures are taken into account.     

Performance‐Based Logistics and Interfirm Team Processes: An Empirical Investigation

Practitioners are using performance‐based logistics (PBL) strategies to reduce cost and improve value in industries such as defense, transportation, manufacturing, and healthcare. PBL is part of a group of increasingly popular buyer–supplier strategies that focuses on outcomes as oppose to the delivery of products or services. A key tenet of PBL is the use of innovation to create cost avoidance that benefits buyers and suppliers. In this research, we explore the interfirm team‐level factors associated with innovation in successful PBL strategies. This research brings together business, organizational behavior, and engineering literature to study PBL team success. The study entailed interviews with 17 managers involved in large scale PBL projects. The interviews and follow‐on member checking sessions resulted in a model composed of eight emergent categories and associated propositions. Both practical and theoretical implications are provided.     

Logistics Information System Evaluation: Assessing External Technology Integration and Supporting Organizational Learning

Firms often outsource the development and acquisition of logistics information systems (LIS) needed to improve logistics processes. Managers tasked with such outsourcing decisions often struggle to understand and balance the external technology's impact on existing logistics processes, individual stakeholders, firm strategies, and the financial and operational performance of the firm. Unfortunately, research is limited on (1) methods for evaluating the performance capabilities of systems from external sources prior to full implementation, and (2) the impact of external technology integration (ETI) on organizational behavior and learning related to a firm's logistics processes. Through the lens of organizational learning (OL) theory, this research uses a case study approach to examine the transportation division of a major U.S.‐based fuel retailer to gain insights on the management control of ETI efforts. The study builds theory to fill important literature gaps then develops a conceptual framework and supporting propositions to inform future research on logistics ETI. The findings highlight important OL implications for firms involved in ETI efforts and also provide a practically relevant management control tool that can be used by logistics practitioners.     

The Rise of Crowd Logistics: A New Way to Co‐Create Logistics Value

Patterned on crowdsourcing and crowdfunding, a new crowd practice has emerged in recent years: crowd logistics. In this paper, we propose a first conceptualization of this growing phenomenon. Crowd logistics is a novel way of providing logistics services that taps into the dormant logistics resources and capabilities of individuals, using mobile applications and web‐based platforms. Although crowd logistics has been widely discussed in the business world, it has not yet been the subject of any academic publication. Following an exploratory case study approach, we review the websites of 57 crowd logistics initiatives around the world and highlight the main distinctive characteristics of crowd logistics, as compared to traditional business logistics. We introduce a segmented analysis in which crowd logistics solutions are classified according to four types of service offered. Finally, we introduce six theoretical propositions on the future development of crowd logistics. At a theoretical level, our findings contribute to enriching the service‐dominant logic perspective in the logistics field by conceptualizing the crowd as a co‐creator of logistics value. At a managerial level, our findings contribute to identifying which types of crowd logistics services are more likely to threaten or disrupt traditional business.     

现代物流企业知识管理策略研究

本文认为,知识是企业实现可持续发展的关键要素,物流企业应将知识管理与供应链物流管理相结合,优化企业供应链,提升知识管理与创新水平。知识管理已成为提升物流企业信息化水平的必然选择,它可以增强物流企业对环境的适应能力;缩短物流链运作时间,实现智能化物流;加强供应链管理,优化物质资源配置;降低物流供应链管理中的不确定性,提高供应链的灵活性;建立物流企业与客户之间的知识交互系统。文章指出,知识管理实施过程很复杂,应遵循保密、协调、开放及共享的基本原则。知识管理的实施主要有三大方向:一是市场化策略,建立知识地图;二是系统化策略,建立知识库;三是社会化策略,建立知识社群。其中以知识库建立为前提的知识管理的实施主要包括以下步骤:建立知识库并对知识进行编码;加快物流信息化进程;建立并完善企业知识网络,实现知识共享最大化;重建企业业务流程与组织结构;建立企业之间的信任机制;建立良好的激励机制。     

煤炭企业物流“三维成本”控制

本文认为,煤炭企业物流成本是指在煤炭企业物流过程中,材料和产品在空间位移过程中和时间上所耗费的各种资源的活劳动和物化劳动的货币表现的总和,它存在于煤炭产品的整个运行过程.文章按照"三维分类法",印从支付、运作和功能三个维度对煤炭企业物流成本进行分类.同时提出,企业为控制物流成本,获取持续竞争优势,应树立"三维成本观",印基于价值链并结合三个维度来认识煤炭企业物流成本,主要包括支付维度的资源投入观、运作维度的资源耗费观、功能维度的时间消耗观.基于煤炭企业物流的"三维成本观",企业可以从支付维度的价值创造、运作维度的价值提供、功能维度的时间资源节约等三个方面来控制煤炭企业物流成本,形成煤炭企业物流"三维成本控制观",最终实现顾客价值的最大化和顾客价值创造的尽早化.     

Unpacking the effect of exploration during environmental uncertainty: Evidence from the information technology sector

Environmental uncertainty can render managerial decision‐making about resource deployment particularly difficult. Integrating the knowledge‐based view of the firm and the organizational learning literature, we make a case for deploying specific knowledge‐based resources to cope with specific types of environmental uncertainty. We unbundle knowledge‐based resources into technology‐based and social‐network‐based resources and, using Milliken's (1987) typology of environmental uncertainty, we hypothesize that (a) technological exploration will be more effective during state uncertainty and (b) while being generally beneficial, social exploration will prove more effective during response uncertainty. An analysis of the financial performance of information technology (IT) firms in the United States over the period 1995–2004 generally supports our hypotheses. Copyright © 2015 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

EXAMINATION OF A PATH MODEL RELATING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE WITH FIRM PERFORMANCE

This article draws on the resource‐based view of the firm to investigate the mechanisms through which information technology (IT) impacts firm performance. Research suggests that the relationship between IT and firm performance may be both direct and indirect. In this study, a path model is tested that proposes a firm's IT infrastructure resources as having both a direct impact on organizational performance, as well as an indirect effect that is propagated through its impact on an intermediate organizational resource, a firm's logistics information system (LIS). The results suggest that positive firm performance may be derived directly from an organization's superior IT infrastructure, as well as indirectly, through its enabling impact on LIS's. These findings contribute to our understanding of the nature of the relationship between IT and firm performance by exploring the value of IT at both the process and organizational levels.     

A Global Analysis of Orientation,Coordination, and Flexibility in Supply Chains

Global supply chains are growing rapidly, and the ability to manage cross border logistics operations has become a necessity to maintain a competitive advantage in a dynamic environment. This research addresses current gaps in the literature by investigating the buyer–supplier integration dynamics in a global context with a focus on the antecedents and outcomes involved in the process. Empirical data from 320 U.S. based manufacturing companies that source from overseas was collected and used to test the framework. In addition to providing empirical evidence for the importance of orientation on collaboration, operational coordination, and integration this research explains how manufacturing companies can enhance the flexibility of their global suppliers and how that impact their logistics as well as overall firm performance. Managerial and research implications are provided as well as areas for future research.     

江西现代物流业发展现状、问题与对策

现代物流业是国民经济发展的动脉和基础产业,其发展程度成为衡量一国现代化和综合国力的重要标志之一。近年来,江西把加快发展现代物流业作为调整经济结构和地区布局、提高经济整体运行效率和质量、改善投资环境和增强综合竞争力的战略选择,物流设施日趋完善、物流规模不断扩大、物流形式呈现多样、物流环境持续改善。但是,也应该看到,江西的现代物流业仍处于起步阶段,存在物流发展缺乏整体协调、物流基础设施仍然滞后、对物流的认识尚不到位、缺乏现代物流龙头企业、现代物流专业人才短缺等问题。加快江西现代物流业的发展,应以科学规划引导物流业合理布局、以观念创新构建物流业发展模式、以政策措施加大物流业支持力度、以科技为支撑建设物流运行平台、以长远眼光重视物流人才的培养。     

A Path to a Public–Private Partnership: Commercial Logistics Concepts Applied to Disaster Response

This paper initiates an exploratory investigation with the aim of providing a better understanding of the applicability of several commercial logistics processes to humanitarian logistics. The paper begins with background information, including humanitarian logistics literature and then summarizes current government agencies' and nongovernmental organizations' policies. Stakeholder theory is used to explore the motivations of commercial organizations to participate in humanitarian logistics operations. Next, the adequacy of emergency management policy is evaluated and four commercial logistics frameworks are analyzed for application to immediate disaster response. The analysis includes ratings of the frameworks and open‐ended comments from a sample of logistics experts. Findings provide guidance to the implementation of commercial logistics processes to disaster response efforts.     

物流管理专业《运筹学》教学改革微探

随着物流业的发展,运筹学理论在物流领域得到广泛应用,逐渐形成物流运筹学知识体系。本文针对物流管理专业开设的运筹学课程,结合多年的教学实践,从培养学生数学建模能力,教学内容的合理安排、师资、教学方法和手段等方面研究探讨了运筹学教学改革。对需要解决的问题和如何改革提出了见解。     

财经类高校物流管理专业人才培养模式研究

目前物流专业毕业生专业能力的不足对高校现有的培养模式提出了挑战。本文分析了现代物流管理人才应具备的核心专业能力,财经类高校物流管理人才应具备的知识结构及专业课程设置,探讨了财经类高校物流管理人才培养模式的创新途径。